Alternating-current relay.



J. F. D. HUGE.

I ALTERNATING GURRENT RELAY. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 23, 1910 1,006,091 Pate n fied own, 1911.

*Wi lucooea elm M11111 a citizen of the United Statesresiding New York, in the county of New York and UNITED. STATES PATENT OFFICE. JOSEPH F. 1). EDGE, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOER 'IO AMERICAN DISTRICT TELEGRAPH COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW J ALTERNATING-CURRENT RELAY.

Specification of Letters Patent. Pai gnted Oct. 17, 1911,

- Application filed September 23, 1910. Serial No. 583,443.

To all whom it may concern.- I

Be it known that I, JOSEPH F. D. Hoes, at

State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Alternating-CurrentRelays, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in relays adapted to be operated by alternating or pulsating currents of definite frequency and comprises an improved type of vibrating armature, as hereinafter described and .partltilllzilly pointed out in the appended claims. In another application .tor Letters Patent filed April 11, 1910 Ser. No. 554667, I have illustrated, described and claimed an alternating current relay comprising an armature mounted to vibrate in unison with the alternating current energizing the relay magnet, and which has a fixed nodal point opposite the contact point of the relay with which such armature should make contact during closed circuit condition of the energizing circuit, said armature having, in addition to such vibratory movement, a bodily movement toward such contact point when the energizing circuit is closed and a bodily movement away from such contact point when the energizing circuit is broken. The said armature, which has the form of a light rod, extends beyond the said contact point, and, in the form shown in. the drawings of the said application, carries, on its so extended portion, an adjustable weight by adjustment of which the normal. frequency of vibration or the armature may be adjusted within considerable limits, to correspond with variation of frequency of the energizing current.

ln another application filed July 27, 1910, Ser. No. 57 1-202, an alternative form of such howmivhtgrein the extended portion the armature carries, instead of an ad juslable weight, a paddle adapted to move in liquid contained in a suitable dashpot; and by ad ust ng the depth ofn-nmersion of said paddle in the liquid in such dashpot i a normal rate of vibration or" the armature may be adjusted within considerable limits; The-relays of the two patent applications mentioned. both respond, physically, to currents of frequency widely different from those to which the relays are adjusted; but since, when the. frequency of the energizing current does not correspond reasonably closely to the frequency for which the armature is adjusted, that armature does not have a modal point opposite the contact point of the relay, the contact formed between the .said armature and thecontact point, is, in

such cases, so pooras to offer very great resistance to the passage of the current, so that in efi'ect the relay does not respond to currents of frequencies difiering greatly from that for which the relay is adjusted, even though as a physical fact the armature j is deflected toward its contact point.

I have discovered that it is not necessary, n many cases'at least, in relays of the type illustrated and described in my two prior applications, to extend the armature past the contact point of the relay and to provide on, such extended port-ion an adjustable lweight, or a paddle, or like device for adjusting the armature to varying frequencies of the energizing current,.but thatif a suitable weight mass be mounted on the armature lever between the support for said le'ver and the contact point, such armature lever will vibrate in unison with the energizing current, and with a stationai'ynode in con-- tact with the front contact point of the relay, over a considerable frequency range of the energizlng current. Such welghtmass may, with advantage, constitute the true armature of the magnet and may be an armature plate corresponding closely to the armature plates commonly employed in ordinary neutral relays. The resulting relay, as shown in the accon'ipanying drawings, resembles closely in appearance an ordinary neutral relay, the most noticeable difference bein in the support of the armature lever; for whereas the armature lever of an ordinary neutral relay has a pivotal support by means of trunnion screws, theory and prac tice indicate that such a pivotal support is not practicable inv an alternating current relaysuch as herein. described, and that the.

form of support used for the armature lever must be one perniittin a considerable degree of vibration of the ar nature lever near its point of support; whereas the armature when supported by trunnion screws, as in the case of the ordinary neutral relay, is not permitted material vibration near its point of'pivotal support. The most suitable support for thearmature of my improved relay which I have as yet found comprises a pluof support, besides permitting motion of the armature between contact points similar to the. motion of the armature of an ordinary neutral relay. The resulting relay is obviously more simple and compact, as compared with the relays of my above-mentioned applications, and is also more easy to construct. A relay such as illustrated in the accompanying drawings has been found to have a treqrmncy range of from 280 to 400 cycles per second, with slight adjustment of the eiieetive length of the flexible supporting strips, and without adjustn'ient has been found to have a frequency range of from 2230 to 300 cycles per second. By employing supporting., rips of proper elasticity and by varying the mass of the weight and its position on the armature lever relays such as herein described may be adapted for other frequencies.

The objects of my invention are to improve and simplify alternating current relays of the type illustrated and described in my above-mentioned applications, to make the relay adaptable for operation, without adjustment, over a considerable frequency range, and applicable, with slight adjustment, to a much greater frequency range;

and generally to make the relays simple,

compact, and easy to construct and adjust.

I will now proceed to describe my invention with reference to the accompanying drawings, and will then point out the novel featuaes in claims. in the'drawings, Figure 1 shows a top view of my improved relay. Fig. 2 shows a side elevation thereof; and Fig. 3 shows a front elevation and partial section of the relay. Fig. t is a detailed side elevation of an alternative form of relay.

In the drawings, 1 designates the relay magnet, which in the construction shown is an ordinary horse-shoe electromagnet, except that the'core 2 of the magnet is highly lan'iinatcd, as indicated particularly in Fig. 2.

3 designates the arn'iature lever and 4 the armature, the latter being a soft iron plate arranged transversely with respect to the armature lever, at an intermediate point thereon, and constituting, with respect to said arn'laturc lever, a weight mass as previously described.

5 designates the usual bracket for carrying contact points and stops, and 6 designates the usual. front contact screw, and 7 the usual rear stop.

As previously cxplained, the armature has no trunnion screws, as is the case with the ordinary neutral relay, but instead is supported by flexible strips 8, to which strips I the armature is secured by clamps 9; the said 1 strips being themselves clamped to a rigid I support 10.

ll designates the usual retractile spring. In effect, the behavior of this relay upon the opening or closing of an alternating cir- 3 cuit of a frequency corresponding to that E for which the relay is designed, is. the same l as the operation of an ordinary neutral relay upon a direct current; that is to say, the armature lever "3 is deflected so as to make contact with screw (3, upon the closing of the energizing circuit, and is retracted from such contact screw upon the opening of suchenergizing circuit. But in actual operation the relay is quite diflerent from an ordinary neutral relay, in that the armature vibrates in unison with the tlt ].1l21-tl()l1S of the energizing current, the point of contact of the arn'iature lever with the screw 6 being, however, a fixed node during such vibration, so that the vibration does not prevent the existence of a good electrical contactbetween the armature lever and screw 6.

Observations indicatethat at the point of connection of the armature lever to the flexible strips 8 said lever has a considerable amplitude of vibration, with respect to the amplitude ofvibrat-ion at other points. It is for the reasonthat the armature lever must, apparently, be free to vibrate at its point of support, that trunnion screws, such as employed in an ordinaryrelay, do not form a satisfactory support for the armatlexible, so that it could bend back and forth between the contact point and the point of support, trunnion screws might be employed, since then the armature lever would be a spring vibrating between two points of support. Fig. 4 shows such a relay, l2 designating the spring armature lever, 4; the armature, and 13 the supporting trunnion screws.

What I claim is: 1. The combination, with an electromagnet, an armature therefor, and a contact point adapted to make contact with said armature when the latter is attracted toward its magnet, of a support for said armature, connected thereto at a )Olllt distant from such contact point, and adapted to permit both bodily movement of the armature toward and from said magnet, and vibratory movement of the armature, said armature, having, intermediate such point of support and contact point, a weight located opposite a mass, said contact point node of said armature.

2. The combination, with an electromagnet, of an armature, a contact point adapted to make contact with such armature when the latter is attracted toward the magnet, and a supporting strip secured to said armature at a point distant from such contact ture. If, however, the armature were madepoint, and supporting the same, and of such flexibility as to permit bodily movement of the armature toward and from the magnet in the immediate vicinity of the point of connection of the armature to said strip, said armature having intermediate said'contact point and supporting strip, a weight mass, said contact point located opposite a node of said armature.

3. The combination, with a two pole elec tromagnet, an armature therefor, comprising an armature plate arranged to coact with the poles of said magnet, and an armature lever secured thereto, and arranged transversely with respect thereto, and a'contact point adapted to make contact with, said armature when the latter is attracted toward its magnet, ofa support for said armature comprising a plurality of flexible strips spaced apart laterally and connected to the armature at points distant from said contact point, and adapted to permit both bodily movement of the armature toward and from said magnet, and a vibratory movement of the armature, and of such flexibility as to permit bodily movement of the armature toward and from the magnet in the immediate vicinity of the point of connection of the armature to said'strips, said armature. plate constituting a weight mass affecting the normal rate of vibration of the armature, said contact point located opposite a node of said armature.

In testimony whereof I aifix my signature, in the presence of two Witnesses.

' JOSEPH F. or soon.

Witnesses H. M. MARisLE, D. A. DAVIES. 

